Disclaimer: I do not own 'High School Musical' or any related characters

A/N: Well, the response to this new story is actually quite overwhelming. I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to go down with all of you, simply because it's just that little bit different from what I usually write. The reviews have been absolutely amazing and some of them have made me laugh quite a bit, sadly, the answer to all of your conspiracy theories is no. That's not what happened, one particularly it involved abortion and while I had already toyed with that idea, it just didn't fit; I also didn't want to deal with the debate that comes with abortion. It's a really touchy subject and to address it would actually be quite hard, especially considering I do and don't like the idea of abortion. It depends on what the person is going through. Anyway, I really did enjoy all your reviews, especially the ones which seemed so frustrated with not knowing what was going on, which was relatively all of you, but I can say I'm going to try and make what happened really…different from what everyone expects!

Also, while I would love to update DF and finish C&M, it's going to be completely sporadic. Not because I'm lazy, just because my interest in those two stories needs to be rekindled. Its very, very hard to write a story that you have no interest in and while I would love to finish C&M at the moment, my interests are elsewhere hence why I started writing this story! This means I'm toying with the idea of putting them on hiatus and cowering in a corner over how angry you'd all be or finishing them just not to the very best of my ability and while I would love to appease everyone with an update, at the moment with me opening the word document or them and then closing them, it doesn't look good. Besides, I want to provide the best work for everyone and you can't be your best if you don't want to try! So, enjoy the new chapter!


Memories that Last for Moments

Chapter Three: Slapped with the Real World

Straight up,

What did you hope to learn about here?

If I was someone else,

Would this all fall apart?

Strange

Where were you

When we started this gig?

I wish the real world

Would just stop hassling me.

Real World – Matchbox Twenty

If Troy Bolton thought that she would be swayed by him once again. Then he had another thing coming. There was absolutely no way that she was going to fall back into his bed and under his spell, no matter what he said. The only problem she had now was trying to figure out how she wasn't going to do that. Her track record when Troy Bolton wasn't brilliant as far as she was concerned and Gabriella had a bad feeling that no matter what she did, something was going to happen on this stupid trip to LA that she had stupidly agreed to go on before she found out exactly who was going to be there to pick her up at the airport.

Lord, she was never going to forget walking off that plane and seeing him again and she definitely wasn't going to forget being pinned to a fridge by him.

It worried her too. Her inability to forget him. She wanted to forget everything that she had ever had to do with Troy Bolton and the problem was she couldn't. She was so completely unable to forget anything and everything to do with Troy Bolton, Gabriella wondered why she hadn't listened to Sharpay and gone into therapy when he left. Maybe if she had listened to her blonde friend, she wouldn't be lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling and counting down the minutes until she heard Troy and Chad leave for their morning jog. She only knew about their jog when Chad had invited Anna and herself on it the night before and even then, Troy had smirked and went to make a comment about how lethargic she actually was.

Which was true, it just surprised her that Troy could remember something like that when he couldn't even remember how long it had been since they'd seen each other last.

That had hurt; Gabriella found herself musing, as she rolled over and strained to hear the guys leaving. She'd spent the last four years trying to forget him and the hurt he had caused her and yet, he couldn't even get the years right and even though she had tried to convince herself it had only hurt because he had been so…arrogant about it, she knew that she was lying to herself. It had hurt because the way he had said had made it seem like it hadn't meant anything to him, like she had been just another notch on his belt and, Gabriella let out a bitter laugh at thought, four years on and she'd still thought that what they had had meant more to him than anything else.

How stupid could she get?

Shaking her hair out of her eyes, Gabriella rolled over and eyed her phone which had begun vibrating the moment she rolled over. For a second, she considered completely ignoring it, knowing that it was one of three people and not really wanting to speak to any of them. Sighing, Gabriella lazily reached out and plucked her phone off the bedside table, knowing that she would have to deal with the wrath of whoever was calling and knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to deal with the wrath, especially if she'd had an encounter with Troy before hand.

"Hello?" She didn't bother to look at the caller id and knew that whoever was on the other had assumed that she knew who was calling.

"Are you up yet?" Sharpay demanded and Gabriella rolled back over, resting on her back and studying the flecks of Californian sunshine on her ceiling.

"Kinda. I'm awake, but I'm not up and walking around." Gabriella replied, stretching luxuriously as she imagined Sharpay rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Good. At least you're awake. We're going out to brunch." Sharpay said and Gabriella's eyes, which had closed lazily, popped open.

"Say what? Shar, do I have too? I figured you'd wait at least two or three days before you decide to meet up." Gabriella snapped at her friend, sitting up and running a hand through her unruly curls.

"We're going to brunch. Yes, you have to. No I'm not going to wait that long, hello your living in the same house as Troy, who need I remind you-" Gabriella cut Sharpay off quickly before Sharpay continued, not wanting to relive the moment she'd found herself reliving in a dream during the night.

"No. You don't actually. I was reminded last night." Gabriella shot out before Sharpay could continue her barely started rant. Sharpay was quiet for a moment and Gabriella wondered what she was thinking, feeling slightly worried as the silence stretched.

"What the fuck did he do to you?" Sharpay suddenly snarled into the phone and Gabriella suppressed a giggle at the viciousness in Sharpay's voice, before wondering how Sharpay had figured out that Troy had done something to her the night before.

"Shar, this isn't a conversation I want to have over the phone. So tell me where we're going to have brunch and I'll meet you there." Gabriella said, glancing at the clock and noting the time. Eight o'clock. Which meant Sharpay would want to meet at least at ten, which gave her two hours to figure out how she was going to get to wherever Sharpay wanted to have brunch.

"The Aroma Café. I'll see you there at nine-thirty, no excuses and don't bring Anna." Sharpay instructed fiercely and Gabriella let out a loud sigh, not sure how to not bring Anna to a brunch with Sharpay when Anna was the one she was staying with.

"Okay. I'll see you there at nine-thirty." Gabriella said and knew that Sharpay would be satisfied with that.

"Good. I'll see you there and you can tell me what's going on." Sharpay said meaningfully and Gabriella knew that there was someone in the room with her friend as she said a hasty goodbye and hung up.

Throwing her phone down, Gabriella knew that she only had an hour and a half to shower, get ready and avoid Anna. Not to mention she'd probably use the hour to figure out where the hell The Aroma Café was. She knew it would be simpler to just ask Chad but Gabriella didn't know if she could risk facing Troy and then Sharpay. Both were rather formidable when she thought about it.

Letting out a sigh, Gabriella swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Glancing around, she found the baggy shirt she'd worn the night before in an attempt to shield her body from Troy's gaze. It had worked, sort of. Whenever she'd caught him looking at her, he'd smirk and remind Gabriella that he'd seen what she was desperately trying to hide from him. Pulling it on, Gabriella was resigned to believe that it was better than nothing and proceeded to head downstairs, with every intention of having a peaceful breakfast while Chad and Troy were on their run. Pulling her hair up into a high ponytail, Gabriella went down the stairs quickly before turning the corner and coming face to face with two shirtless men.

Two powerfully built, sweaty, shirtless men. It was enough to make her stop in her tracks.

For a moment, Gabriella could only gape openly as Chad and Troy stretched, standing in the kitchen and gulping water. Her eyes admired Chad's body for a moment, before turning to Troy's. Her mouth went dry as her eyes dragged up over his toned chest. Very much against her will, Gabriella's eyes latched onto a drop of sweat and followed it as it slid down Troy's neck and weaved its way down the contours of his chest. Shaking her head slightly, Gabriella tried to regain control of herself. As quickly as she could, she closed her mouth and swallowed. Taking a deep breath, she took another step forward and let out a gentle cough, alerting both of them to her presence.

Both Troy and Chad looked up, surprised, and Gabriella let a hesitant smile settle on her mouth as Chad's face quickly broke into a wide grin. As fast as she could, Gabriella allowed her eyes to drift over to Troy once again and tried not to swallow at his shadow of a smirk and dark eyes, which were watching her carefully.

"Hey Gabs! What has you up at this time of morning?" Chad asked. Gabriella shrugged; not noticing the way Chad moved from behind the bench and nudged Troy in the back but noticing the flicker in Troy's eyes.

"Well, I just got a call from a friend who lives here in LA and she wants to meet me for brunch and I agreed because I know Anna won't surface until around eleven. So I was wondering if you could take me to meet her or give me directions or something." Gabriella explained, throwing a reason for agreeing to meet Sharpay in that would satisfy Chad and praying that Chad would agree to take her.

"Oh. Right. Well, where are you going?" Chad asked and Gabriella wracked her brains for a moment, ignoring the chuckle that emitted from Troy and knowing he was laughing because she had forgotten.

"The Aroma Café," Gabriella replied and felt her heart drop drastically when Chad's grin faded a little bit.

"Seriously? Damn Gabs, I wish I could take you but I've got to head in the opposite direction. Troy?" Chad asked, turning to look at his best friend who was in mid-sip. Reluctantly, Gabriella turned her eyes to Troy as well and found her eyes drifting downward before she caught herself and focused her eyes on his chin. Troy lowered his water bottle and tapped it thoughtfully, his gaze on Gabriella.

"I can. I'm heading to the offices anyway. What time do you need to get there?" Gabriella glanced up, startled at his gentle tone and unsure whether or not this was the same guy who had trapped her against a fridge the night before.

"Nine-thirty. Is that okay for you?" Gabriella asked and then wanted to kick herself when she met his ocean blue eyes which were watching her with such thoughtfulness that Gabriella found herself feeling wary. Before she could think about what seemed off in his eyes, Troy glanced at the clock on the microwave and nodded.

"Yep. That's good for me. We'll need to leave by nine which means you've got about forty-five minutes to get ready. Enough time for you?" Troy asked pleasantly, raising his water bottle and taking another sip from it.

"Yeah. Thank you." Gabriella said and as Troy looked back at her, his hair falling into his eyes, a smile curving his lips Gabriella felt her pulse flutter at the familiarity of his gaze, the way he seemed so different from the night before.

"Good. I'm going to have a shower." Troy nodded at her and then Chad before, brushing past the two of them and, whether it was deliberate or not, brushed his hand over the top of her thighs. The fluttering of her pulse intensified and Gabriella fought to remember that she didn't want anything to do with him as his body past so close to hers and memories of what it had been like to be pressed against it invaded her mind.

Taking a deep breath, Gabriella glanced at Chad who was looking the other way innocently, as if he hadn't seen exactly how close Troy had been to her and where, exactly, his hand had brushed. Rolling her eyes, Gabriella headed into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal that Anna had brought and watched Chad through narrowed eyes. He looked to…intrigued about something and Gabriella could only guess that he looked intrigued about what had just passed between her and Troy.

"What's the intelligent look for?" She asked, shoving a handful of the sugary cereal into her mouth and chewing slowly as Chad gave her the once over.

"What's with you and Troy? He never agrees to take someone on his way to the office." Chad said and Gabriella shrugged, swallowing her cereal and wondering how she could palm this off without arousing suspicion in Chad.

"Nothing. Maybe he's not feeling like an uptight bastard like he was the other night." She suggested innocently and wasn't surprised when Chad's eyes flared slightly at her suggestion, giving her the impression that Chad wasn't all that happy with her words.

"Nah. Last night he was just tired and recovering from shock." Chad said knowingly and Gabriella eyed him. She knew she shouldn't underestimate Chad, but the way he had just said that made her think that Chad knew a lot more about what was going on than he let on and now that she thought about it, Chad hadn't seemed all that surprised when Troy had greeted her in the airport the day before.

"Really? I wonder why he was shocked." Gabriella mused innocently. She got a horrible feeling in her stomach when something flickered across Chad's face, almost like he was considering calling her out for something that he didn't know anything about and then relaxed when the look past.

"Yeah, I wonder," Chad agreed vaguely, Gabriella let out the breath she was holding slowly. "So, who are you meeting?" Chad asked curiously and Gabriella jerked, glancing at him before comprehending his question.

"Sharpay Evans." Gabriella replied and was shocked when an amused smirk flitted onto Chad's face.

"Really? You're meeting Sharpay?" Chad asked and something about his voice made Gabriella wonder how, exactly, Chad knew the name of one of her oldest friends.

"Uh…yes. Why?" She replied, putting down the cereal box and wondering what her friend hadn't said on the phone when she'd told Sharpay who she was staying with.

"No reason. Just tell her that I really enjoyed her company the other night." Chad said and Gabriella's eyes widened at his implication. Before she could respond to his words or even open her mouth to question him, Troy walked back into the kitchen, dressed casually.

"Showers free if you want one, Brie." Troy said off-handedly and Gabriella's eyes swung from Chad's smirking face to Troy's impassive one and she wondered, once again, what had happened to the jerk the night before.

"Thanks." Gabriella mumbled and got out of the kitchen as quickly as her feet could carry her, her mind whirring.

Why hadn't Sharpay told her she knew Troy was living in LA? Why hadn't Sharpay mentioned knowing Chad? What the hell was her friend playing at? And why on earth would Sharpay get involved with someone like Chad? As far as she knew, Chad was about as far from her type as she could get. Sharpay had a thing for irresponsible, slightly weaker men who chose to worship her and Gabriella knew that Chad wasn't as irresponsible as his sister made him out to be, he wasn't close to irresponsible and he definitely wasn't weak. Chad enjoyed having control over things and would only worship someone if he was completely serious about them, all three traits would have been an immediate turn off for Sharpay.

Sighing, Gabriella shut the door to her room and glanced at her clock. Eight-thirty. She only had half an hour to get ready and Gabriella wrinkled her nose slightly at the idea of having a shower, she'd had one the night before and didn't particularly feel the need to have another one. Opening her suitcase, Gabriella grabbed a pair of jeans and a plain black shirt, deliberately deciding to dress down knowing that Sharpay would dress up and not feeling like trying to compete with the flashy blonde. Pulling them on, she quickly headed for the bathroom and brushed her teeth as fast as she could, hearing Chad holler something about having a shower. Leaving her hair down, Gabriella ran back to her room and grabbed her phone and wallet, not wanting to drag a bag with her.

Stepping out of her room and shutting the door, Gabriella glanced at Anna's shut door and wondered how her friend could sleep through something as loud as Chad running up and down the hallway. Even though she knew her friend was a heavy sleeper Gabriella still found it hard to believe that she would sleep through Chad's antics. As she stared at her door, Gabriella contemplated opening it and making sure Anna was asleep before she was stopped by Troy's voice.

"She drank the bottle of vodka that was in the fridge last night; I'd advise you to leave her alone." The words were simple and made sense, so when Gabriella felt a flash of irritation she knew it wasn't because of his common sense, it was because he knew what she had been thinking.

"And you and her brother didn't try and stop her?" Gabriella asked coolly, turning to face Troy who had just come out of his bedroom wearing a crisp, white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a tie done up.

"Because we didn't actually think she was drinking that much. She'd been drinking sporadically and downed half the bottle after you'd gone to bed." Troy shrugged and Gabriella let out a sigh, knowing how hard it was to stop Anna drinking when she did something like that.

"Nothing like a welcome to LA present than getting drunk with her brother." She said wryly and Troy chuckled, leaving Gabriella once again to wonder what had happened to him being a jerk.

"We've got to go." Troy said suddenly and Gabriella nodded, deciding that it was better to go with whatever had gotten into him than asking about it.

She didn't understand why he was being so nice, but the way he was acting made it easier for her to forget what had happened the night before. It made it easier for her to forget being trapped against a fridge by him and even though she knew the complete three-sixty of his personality should have been something that worried her, it wasn't and that in itself should have been worrying. But she wasn't worrying about it; instead she was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat of Troy's Holden Monaro, a car she hadn't heard of, trying not to watch him drive and wishing that he would slow down, just a little bit. Not because his driving was dangerous, if anything Gabriella felt safe sitting in the passenger's seat because she could see that Troy was in complete control of the car. No, safety wasn't the issue, the fact that he was driving fast combined with the picture he made was what made her want to slow down a little bit. Aviators covered his eyes, his tie was loose, his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows and his hair was blowing as the wind blew in from the window.

Combined with his driving, Troy looked dangerous, controlled and so devastatingly attractive that Gabriella was having trouble remembering why she had felt so much contempt for him only hours before.

She was having even more trouble trying not to stare at him and be completely obvious about it.

Sighing, she finally managed to tear her eyes away from him and looked out the window. As she stared out at the passing traffic, Gabriella felt relief when her hormones released her mind and a tinge of worry slowly began to settle on her mind. Now that she was thinking a little bit more clearly, Gabriella had to wonder what the hell Troy was playing at. Where on earth had the nice guy act come from? It was so…weird that last night he had seemed so predatory, so confident in assuming that she was just going to fall back into his bed while she had been so mad at being trapped by him and forced to endure memories she hadn't pulled out in four years. Glancing at him again, Gabriella wondered what had gone through his mind when he'd cornered her in the kitchen; she wondered if she still had any effect on him whatsoever and then tried not to think about it. Thinking about something like that meant that she still cared about him and she didn't. She knew she didn't.

Feeling the car slow, Gabriella looked up and only managed to catch the sign for the Aroma Café as Troy pulled into the curb and shut the car off. Wanting to sigh in relief at having survived the car trip without anymore challenges on her half being issued, she didn't. Instead, she undid her seatbelt and opened the door, barely noticing Troy get out of the car. Opening the door, she stepped out and turned around to shut it. As soon as she heard it snap shut, she turned around and came face to face with Troy.

"Oh. Um, thanks." She muttered and concentrated on a shoulder as she saw him take off his Aviators, not willing to look up at him.

"Not going to look at me?" His voice was light and teasing, causing Gabriella to once again wonder where the Mr Nice Guy demeanor had come from. Then she made the mistake of glancing up and meeting his eyes.

Shock reverberated through her at the storm within them. They were so dark and Gabriella took a stumbling step backwards as he took a step forward.

"Uh…Troy, what are you doing?" She asked, frantically looking around as he took another step toward her. He was doing it again. He was going to trap her up against a car and make it look like they were lovers who couldn't get enough of each other.

"Relax, I'm not going to take chunks out of you, I just want to ask you a question." His reassurance wasn't all that comforting as Gabriella's back hit the side of the car and Troy placed one hand next to her shoulder and leaned on it. She forced herself not swallow as she once again was encompassed in his raw masculinity.

"Really? Cause it actually seems like your threatening me!" She exclaimed and knew that her words lacked any passion. Troy's shoulders shook and Gabriella didn't know if it was because he was laughing at her or because he was shrugging.

"I'm not," he shifted and Gabriella's hand pressed against his chest in an attempt to keep him away from her. "But I'm still going to ask you that question." Though he'd seemed to obey the fact that she wanted their bodies touching, Gabriella tried to suppress the tremble that wanted to ripple through her when she felt Troy's breath on her ear, his voice, slow and sensual, in her ear.

"And why would you be curious now?" He stiffened for a moment and Gabriella felt a moment's pleasure at having the contemptuous question hit home and then wondered why something as simple as that could cause him to stiffen the way he did.

"I'll answer that one later," Gabriella's knees felt weak and she nearly jumped when she swore she felt his tongue briefly run over the curve of her ear. "What I want to know is whether or not you told Anna exactly what made you react to me the way you did." He whispered against her ear, nuzzling and Gabriella felt her knees weaken just that little bit more.

For a moment she didn't reply. She didn't know how to reply. Her heart was hammering and her brain was beginning to shut down completely even as a memory forced its way through her mind. Reminding her that he'd done this once before, four years ago. She remembered being furious with him and she remembered being pressed up to a door. She could remember him kissing behind her ear as he whispered things in her ear, reassurances, and promises and closing her eyes, for a moment, just a moment, Gabriella remembered exactly how he had kissed her and remembering it caused her heart to stop. Hurt filled her. Opening her eyes again, she pushed against him.

"Troy get off me, please get off me." She didn't know if he responded because she'd asked him too or the desperation that ran through her and came out in her voice. As soon as he had pulled away from her, Gabriella took a deep breath and told herself to calm down.

"Are you…" he started and trailed off when she shook her head at him. Gabriella didn't know whether she was shaking from rage or hurt but she looked up and met his eyes, dismissing the concern in them, assuming it was because he could have gotten in trouble.

"You're a jerk. You are a complete jerk!" She exclaimed and took another breath. "No. I haven't told Anna and it's none of your business if I do or not! I hate you!" The words left her mouth before she could stop them and Gabriella took malicious pleasure in watching hurt, however brief, flash through his beautiful blue eyes. Before he could react and before she could realize that hurt had been the emotion that had run through his eyes, she'd managed to push past him.

Without looking back, Gabriella stalking into the café and spotted Sharpay immediately. With every intent on unleash anger on the friend that knew he had been here all along, Gabriella stalked over to her, folded her arms and glared down at the blonde.

"You knew he was here!" She hissed and Sharpay looked up, completely startled at the sudden entrance of her friend and before she could recover, Gabriella continued. "You fucking knew he was here and you didn't tell me! Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you call me back once you received my email? Why the hell didn't you tell me!?" Gabriella demanded, trying so hard to keep her voice low and menacing. Sharpay looked up at her, the beautiful blonde looking very much like a deer caught in headlights before she let out a resigned sigh.

"How'd you figure that one out?" Sharpay asked casually, motioning for Gabriella to sit down. For a moment, Gabriella considered refusing and then decided she didn't have enough energy to argue standing up. She lowered herself into the chair and folded her arms.

"Chad. Something about enjoying your company the other night. Seriously, how could you not tell me Shar?" Gabriella ignored the faint blush that appeared on Sharpay's face at her words, wanting an answer and wanting it soon.

"Because I knew you would never come out here if you did. Come on Gabs, it's been four years. You've got to make progress sometime." Sharpay's words were reasonable and her tone was measured. Staring at her, Gabriella bit her lip.

"Its not as simple as you seem to think it is. Sharpay, I was fine until I came to LA. I've been here or what? A day? And already I feel like an emotional mess." Gabriella snapped at her Sharpay, ignoring the way the blonde raised her eyebrows.

"Why? What has he done to you?" She asked and Gabriella knew that Sharpay's measured tone was only a precaution in case she was still contemplating blowing up on her.

"Uh…well. Last night, he sort of trapped me up against the fridge and told me he could guarantee that by the end of these three weeks I was going to end up back in his bed," Gabriella felt some relief when Sharpay's eyes darkened considerably at her words. "And then this morning, just before I stormed in here he had me up against the car. Sharpay, do you honestly know what its like to be surrounded by someone who is so completely…male?" Gabriella asked, knowing her friend would understand what she was talking about. Sharpay's experiences with men were legendary and Gabriella knew she would have at least some idea of what it was like to be surrounded by someone like Troy.

"Kind of. Though, most of the time I want them to surround me and be so incredibly male. It's hot. And I'm guessing for you, it's disconcerting." Sharpay said and Gabriella shrugged, relaxing slightly as she watched Sharpay sip her Latte.

"Its not disconcerting because he's surrounding me…it's disconcerting because it's Troy and he really is so male. I haven't been that close to anyone since, well, since…" Gabriella trailed off as Sharpay reached over and touched her hand as a way of conveying she knew what her friend was talking about.

"It's okay to feel like that Gabriella, especially if you're not over him or what happened." Sharpay said reassuringly and was shocked when Gabriella yanked her hand back. Gabriella stared at Sharpay like she had gone mad and trying to ignore the fact that Sharpay's words seemed to be a slap in the face for her.

"I am over him. Shar, right before I came in here I told him I hated him." Gabriella said and a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach when a look that meant that Sharpay was thinking about what she had said.

"Gabriella, just because you said that you hated him doesn't mean that you're over him. It just means that maybe; just maybe you did the right thing by coming here to LA. It just means that you hate him for something I don't think either of us really understands." Sharpay said quietly and Gabriella suddenly felt the need to avert her eyes. There was too much truth in Sharpay's statement, too much knowledge in the way her friend was looking at her.

"How can I do the right thing in coming to LA and saying I hate him?" Gabriella asked, not sure how that worked and then glanced back at Sharpay.

"Beats me," Sharpay shrugged and Gabriella giggled. "You know what I think you should do?" Sharpay continued and Gabriella suddenly felt a pressing need to change the conversation. So she did.

"You what I think you should do? I think you should tell me what, exactly, you have been doing with Chad Danforth." Gabriella said and saw the look in Sharpay's eyes that told her that Sharpay would go with the change, but they would return to the subject.

"All sorts of unspeakable, nasty things." Sharpay replied with a smirk that was a little too dreamy for Gabriella's liking.

"Oh really? And the fact that you seem to be getting dreamy about him would indicate what?" She asked and Sharpay shrugged, the smirk threatening to turn into a grin as Gabriella examined her.

"It would indicate that the little game we're playing has been full of fantastic moves and positions." Both girls burst into laughter at Sharpay's innuendo and Gabriella found herself shaking her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you and Chad have been-" Sharpay cut Gabriella off with a wicked grin.

"Enjoying bouts of hot, sweaty, completely mind-blowing sex?" She said with a flick of her beach blonde hair that Gabriella knew came from a bottle, despite all Sharpay's protests that it was all natural.

"Uh. I was going to say something totally different but we can use that too." Gabriella said, glancing around to make sure that no-one had actually heard what Sharpay had said and then doubting that any of them would be surprised at her words.

"Of course you were. Anyway, back to what I think you should do about Troy," Sharpay said and before Gabriella could protest, she continued. "I think you should kiss him. If I recall correctly you used to say that he could make you melt as soon as his lips touched yours. So, I think that if you kiss him and he doesn't make you feel anything, anything at all, then you are completely and utterly over him." Sharpay announced and Gabriella choked on the mouthful of latte she had stolen from Sharpay.

"What? You think I should kiss him to prove I'm completely over him and that I really do hate him and that it was a good idea for me to come to LA? Uh-uh. No way. Not going to happen." Gabriella exclaimed as soon as she was sure she would stop coughing. Sharpay raised her eyebrows and tapped a nail against the hard surface of their table.

"Why not? You kiss him and then, if you really are over him, you don't feel anything." Sharpay said and Gabriella had a feeling that she felt like she was speaking to a five-year old. A very stupid five-year old.

"Right, and if I feel something? What then?" Gabriella asked, pointing out the one major flaw in what Sharpay considered a fool proof plan. Sharpay shrugged.

"Well then you're clearly not over him and you probably don't hate him quite as much as you want too. Besides, would it really be so bad to kiss someone who is so hot?" Sharpay asked, attempting to lighten the darkening look on Gabriella's face and then wincing when she realized that she'd only made it worse.

"What's so bad about it? Sharpay, do you have any idea of what I'm feeling right now?" Gabriella asked slowly, trying to make Sharpay see that there was more to seeing Troy again than her friend seemed to understand.

"No, I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?" Sharpay snapped and Gabriella hid a grin at Sharpay's irritation at being spoken to like she was stupid.

"I'm mad Shar. I'm mad at the fact that I'm here and Troy's here. I'm hurt because you knew he was here and didn't tell me and I don't know how to deal with being made a guarantee that I'm pretty sure'll come through. I don't get why he trapped me up against the side of his car this morning when he'd been being so nice this morning and I absolutely hate the fact that above everything whenever he's that close to me, my pulse jumps and all I want to do is for him to find me as stupid and ugly the way he wanted too when I first met him!" Gabriella said, talking so fast she wondered if Sharpay would be able to understand her jumbled words anymore than she understood her jumbled emotions. Sharpay didn't speak for a moment, instead she leaned back in her chair and studied Gabriella.

"So you're mad at me and Anna for bringing you here, yet you're not mad that Troy's here?" She asked and Gabriella blinked in confusion before Sharpay continued. "You're hurt because the guy you're 'over' told you last night that by the end of your stay here, you'll end up back in his bed, which is an indication of the fact that he still finds you attractive enough to want to fuck you, is that right?" Sharpay examined Gabriella as her jaw fell open and she stared at her friend.

"Well…I don't know ab-" Sharpay cut her off before she could continue and Gabriella snapped her mouth shut.

"And over all of that, you want to stop your body responding to him the way it does and you want him to find you unattractive and dimwitted so you don't have to think about the fact that above everything, you still have feelings for him that you hid from yourself in an attempt to forget about him and the hurt he caused you in that past?" Sharpay asked knowingly and for a moment, Gabriella wanted to deny everything that was coming out her friends mouth and then knew that there was absolutely no way she could.

"I guess. What do I do?" She asked after a moment and Sharpay shrugged, finishing off her latte and then signaling for the waiter she had been constantly shooing away during their conversation to come and take their orders.

"Well, truthfully? It sounds like you've been living in a…dream world. One where you were cold enough to freeze out the hurt and anything else that went along with the memories of Troy. So you've come to LA, met Troy and the real world has decided to slap you in the face and remind you that its still there and is ready to piss you off. Its actually quite simple." Sharpay said, smiling dazzlingly at the waiter who was heading towards their table. Gabriella slumped in her seat as Sharpay placed both their orders, not caring what she was having as long as it was food.

"So, where were you when the 'real world' decided to slap me in the face?" She asked dully as Sharpay sent the waiter away.

"Waiting just beyond that little cocoon. Gabriella, you do realize that if you were anyone else, they would have run away screaming from what you've been presented with right?" Sharpay replied and Gabriella shrugged.

"I nearly did," she muttered and let out a sigh. "The real world sucks." She announced and Sharpay, instead of laughing at such an obvious statement, nodded in agreement.

"That it does. I still think you should kiss him." She agreed and Gabriella shook her head.

"No. I'm not ready for that much of the real world yet." She sighed and Sharpay let it go, both girls settling back into their chairs and looking around.

As she looked, Gabriella wanted to not think about what Sharpay had said and concentrate on the cute baby smiling at her. Instead, she sighed. Right now, the real world to her was Troy Bolton and Gabriella hated that she'd lived four years without once entering it and now the real world wasn't going to stop hassling her.


A/N: Well, that's twelve pages of writing and I'm not sure how much of it made sense. Anyway, you guys still don't know what's happened and while I was considering telling you in this chapter, I thought of something totally different to do it with. Anyway, I hope that it wasn't too long and you all enjoyed. Raise your hand if you think Troy's a jerk! I know he is. Though as you're going later discover he's a jerk with a reason to be one. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll update when I can! Also let me know if you thought it was too long.